Box-free Smart TV solution from Roku

Building on the success of the Roku streaming players, streaming platform Roku has unveiled a solution designed to make a better Smart TV. The Roku Streaming Stick is a wireless device about the size of a standard USB flash drive that will plug into a TV to transform it instantly into a Smart TV. The Roku Streaming Stick will feature built-in WiFi, processor, memory and software to deliver Roku’s growing collection of streaming entertainment.

Scott Jacobi, director of Exclusive Brands at Best Buy, said the Roku Streaming Stick provided an easy over-the-top streaming solution for customers who wanted the full experience of a Smart TV without adding an external set-top box, HDMI cable and power adapter to their TV and confirmed that the retailer’s Insignia brand would roll out its first MHL-enabled TVs compatible with the Roku Streaming Stick in 2012. MHL is a new standard that uses the HDMI connector on TVs to deliver power and other critical elements for the streaming experience.

Greg Peters, vice president at Netflix said the Roku Streaming Stick was a “great solution for Netflix” because it allowed the platform to deliver the Netflix experience found on the Roku platform potentially to any TV.

Roku suggests that by moving the streaming platform to a stick that is easily replaceable, consumers no longer have to worry about their large-screen Smart TV becoming obsolete before its time.